After all, who believes in ghosts? However, there you are, alone yourself, in the last few dark hours of the night, listening to that peculiar, indiscernible sobbing and rustling sound directly outside your bedroom window, and—wait a minute! Does the noise originate from within the house?
IT IS WITHIN THE HOME!
Alright, so let’s simply state that uncertainties are common among people.
Furthermore, certain locations are just made for serious fright and ghost sightings. the locations of significant battlegrounds with a high casualty rate, etc. Or cities adorned with expansive, historic cemeteries, or maybe ones that had one or more abandoned mental asylums. Who are you going to contact to distinguish between the eerily frightening and the genuinely haunted? Who is that? The realtor.com® data team!
Our brave colleagues put on their ghost-busting proton packs and set out to discover which ten American cities are most likely to be haunted. We totaled their number and calibre of haunted places, along with the most documented ghost sightings and the oldest stock of homes. (Because, you know, a respectable ghost wouldn’t appear in a brand-new apartment.)
See why you should be worried if you hear anything go bump in the night by looking through our list.
Baltimore, MD
Witness to the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the War of 1812’s Battle of Baltimore, Baltimore’s past is replete with instances of people being killed much too soon—many of whom are interred in adjacent national cemeteries. Numerous residents claim that there are still plenty of agitated ghosts prowling the city’s streets. Numerous inexplicable incidents have occurred at the renowned Fort McHenry. Security personnel have reported hearing footsteps and seeing uniformed troops carrying weapons. The Edgar Allan Poe House, the Admiral Fell Inn, and the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion are a few more well-known haunted mansions. Anticipate that your home has more seniority than your grandparents and a far more enigmatic (and spooky) past because most of Baltimore’s residential housing was constructed prior to World War II (the median home on this list was built in 1929).
Los Angeles, CA
The adage “every good theatre has a ghost” is well-known, thus it should come as no surprise that the American film capital is home to several allegedly haunted theatres. Actor Victor Kilian is said to be haunting Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and looking for the man who killed him with a bludgeon, and there is a closed “third balcony” at the Palace Theatre where actors have often reported seeing ghostly patrons. Though Los Angeles is a city that completely embraces its dark side, the Hollywood Forever cemetery is a popular location for outdoor movie screenings where people dine joyfully amid the headstones and concerts (hey, Lady Gaga!).
Elmira, NY
During the Civil War, Confederate captives were housed at the notorious Elmira prison camp, sometimes referred to as “Hellmira.” Almost 3,000 people perished from malnutrition and illness under terrible and severe circumstances. In addition, Elmira is home to the Woodlawn National Cemetery, which is the final resting place of almost 10,000 troops. There are a lot of restless spirits in this town; do the math. There are plenty of homes with a lengthy—if not particularly gloomy—history in Elmira, where the typical age of residential properties is the second-oldest on our list at about 80 years.
Washington, DC
Without a doubt, one of the most often mentioned haunted cities is our nation’s capital. There are others who claim that the spirits of every American soldier interred in the neighbouring national cemeteries never leave the people they fought for. Emotionally invested were Presidents John Adams and Abraham Lincoln, whose spirits have supposedly been sensed or seen in the White House by none other than Winston Churchill, who is said to have seen Lincoln in his underwear smoking a cigar following a lengthy bath. The city is full of historic mansions that are rumoured to be haunted because of their rich past. With a history dating back to 1765, the Old Stone House is the oldest standing structure in Washington, DC, and is said to be haunted by eleven spirits.
Monroe, MI
Monroe, the scene of one of the deadliest battles of the War of 1812, the Battle of the River Raisin, is still haunted by wandering spirits, some of whom are said to be militiamen and soldiers wearing 1813 military gear. According to Ghosts of America, this little city has actually had more documented ghost sightings than any other place on our list of the top ten. According to HauntedHouses.com, local ghost hunters have reported hearing voices say things like “mama,” “breathe,” and “home” on electronic recordings in the vicinity.
Peoria, IL
Stories of dread and insanity sometimes take place in mental asylums, but this is not the case with “Old Book,” a patient in the now-closed Peoria State Hospital. Old Book was known for weeping pathetically over the deaths of several other prisoners beside an elm tree, and she helped bury a great number of them. Hospital employees claimed to have seen Old Book’s spirit sobbing in agony under the same tree after he passed away. Residents of Peoria, a nearby city, often describe feeling or seeing apparitions these days.
Chicago, IL
Chicago’s history of deadly organised crime and the great fire of 1871 left the city scarred; many of the victims are said to be out there every night, haunting the city’s streets and homes. The most well-known of them was perhaps the “Devil Baby of Hull House,” a purportedly born infant with pointed ears, horns, scales, and a tail at the venerable settlement house who was imprisoned in the attic following unsuccessful attempts to baptise him.
Portland, OR
Although Portland’s Chinatown seems identical to other Chinatowns, beneath it is a maze of tunnels and tombs called the Shanghai Tunnels. Many tunnels have entrances and exits in the basements of brothels, where they were once utilised by underworld characters. Today, the underground passages are said to be haunted by persons who were abducted, carried via the tunnel, and exported to Asia as slaves and prostitutes more than a century ago.
New Orleans, LA
In the city of New Orleans, stories of violent killings, looting pirates, voodoo ghosts, and restless wanderers abound. 90% of the cemeteries have tombs above ground due to the (notoriety) high water table, which serves as a stark reminder that death exists even in the centre of the city. One of the most well-known haunted places in America is the LaLaurie Mansion in the French Quarter, where Madame LaLaurie ruthlessly tortured and killed a dozen slaves. Despite the long history of housing in New Orleans, the median home in the city was built in 1960, most likely as a result of the new development that followed Hurricane Katrina’s devastation.
San Francisco, CA
Filmmakers take note: San Francisco, which is frequently covered with fog, would be the ideal location for a timeless ghost story (no, “Vertigo” isn’t eligible). The spirits of several Chinese women who perished in the basement of the Cameron House in Chinatown during a house fire a century ago are not deterred by sealed cellar doors. The eerie sounds of footsteps and cell doors opening and closing reverberate through the deserted, haunting halls of the island prison known as Alcatraz Prison, which is now a national park.
